Bestbuy Maldives (BBM) together with Maldives Exhibition and Conference Services (MECS) has announced plans to host the sixth Masterclass and Barista workshop ahead of Hotel Asia 2o18.

The Masterclass and Barista workshop, which will be held on Thursday, will be conducted by Chef Garth Shnier, Complex Executive Chef of Sun International, and Chef Ronald Prasanto, Executive Chef of Arrack and Spice.

Throughout his career, Chef Garth Shnier has been involved in training chefs and uplifting standards in the industry, aligning South Africa to global culinary standards, both in the workplace with his staff and in training the members of South Africa’s National Culinary Team. He has always believed in a philosophy of skills transfer and knowledge-sharing, and has been fortunate to share the expertise he has gained by participating in international competitions over the years with many young chefs, the majority of whom have gone on to positions such as executive chefs.

During the Masterclass and Barista workshop, Chef Shnier will take the participants through the process of preparing for an international competition; from psychologically preparing oneself to how to plate your dish.

Chef Ronald Prasanto’s work has been acknowledged by many, including legendary molecular gastronomist Ferran Adria. The story began when he became a judge for a barista championship. The interest to spice up coffee art led him to learn about molecular gastronomy and how he could apply it to coffee specifically.

At the Masterclass and Barista workshop, Chef Ronald Prasanto will be introducing molecular gastronomy technique as another way of creating desserts. This technique uses scientific application to create fresh desserts made to order. One example of the application is called instant freezing, which uses liquid nitrogen. He will also share his experience on molecular gastronomy, which is still a new trend across Asia and one of the fastest growing culinary experiences in the world.

Chef Alan Palmer, Project Director and Chief Judge for the Hotel Asia International Culinary Challenge, stressed the importance of hosting such special classes. He also expressed his desire to hold such cooking classes quite regularly for Maldivian chefs in order to dispense useful information and cooking techniques and trends.

Mohamed Mazloom, Director and CEO of BBM, said: “We at BBM truly believe that with the right training and knowledge, the chefs local to Maldives could reach the highest pinnacle of the Global Culinary Industry. Hence, we have introduced Masterclass, where we bring world-class chefs to educate and introduce the intricate innovations of the culinary world to the Maldivian Chefs. This is the 6th year of Masterclass and each year we see more and more talented chefs participating to learn and achieve the best in their respected fields.”

In the Masterclass, Hotel Asia International Culinary Challenge 2018 will also be launched.

In addition, there will be five main awards: Most Outstanding Chef, Most Outstanding Pastry Chef, Top Maldivian Chef, Best Culinary Establishment – “Alan Palmer Challenge Trophy”, and Judges Special Awards.

MECS and BBM, which is the main sponsor of Hotel Asia, believe in infusing knowledge to the hospitality industry, especially in the F&B sector. Both joins hands time-to-time to conduct training programmes on various fields related to the hospitality industry in Maldives.

Apart from organising Masterclasses, BBM and MECS also sponsor chefs to travel abroad for training and to take part in competitions in order to enhance the industry to be in line with the best in the world. Past winners of Hotel Asia have been accommodated to take part in various competitions in Dubai, Singapore and Hong Kong, and have emerged winners in those respective events.

This year, three Maldivian pastry will participate in the Asian Pastry Cup 2018, which is scheduled to be held on April 24 and 24 in Singapore.